That Brilliant Sound
by Sango's Counterpart
Summary: The only thing about Cho Chang that particularly concerned him was the fact that she used to be a girl who constantly, almost insistently smiled, but now she hardly ever did at all.


Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. All characters, settings, etc. are property of JK Rowling.

A/N: Cho is such a misunderstood character. Special thanks to x-Ice-Queen-x for being a beta (check out her fic Mission Accomplished, another Weasley twin/Cho fic that inspired this one). Enjoy my first ever Harry Potter fic!

* * *

To put it plainly, she bothered him. Not in the same way that gits like Malfoy or Marcus Flint bothered him, but he really couldn't stand the sight of her nowadays. A year ago, he couldn't remember ever seeing her without a large posse of girlfriends, or else holding hands with Pretty-Boy Diggory. But lately, she was almost always alone. He hated seeing her like that, trudging along in the hallways, her books pressed tightly against her chest. As if that would somehow prevent her heart from breaking even further, shattered into fragments like brittle glass. He noticed the bags under her eyes, the tear stains on loose bits of parchment.

He really didn't know much about her at all, aside from the obvious: she was pretty (even with the puffy eyes), she was the Ravenclaw seeker (and a good one, too—at least before Diggory happened), and popular (at least until her supposed friends—with the exception of the awful Marietta Edgecomb—evidently decided that they preferred more cheerful company). But none of that really mattered to George. The only thing about Cho Chang that particularly concerned him was the fact that she used to be a girl who constantly, almost insistently smiled, but now she hardly ever did at all.

Cho was depressed, and it didn't take a genius to figure that out. So naturally, when he heard that Harry—wonderful, _tactless_ Harry—had chucked Chang (_Try saying that ten times quickly_, Fred dared), George couldn't help but feel sorry for her.

* * *

The next morning, in between joking around with Fred and showing off for Katie, George kept stealing sidelong glances at the Ravenclaw table. She was sitting alone. Not even Marietta was there to comfort her this time. And once again, George found himself bothered by the likes of _her_.

So, when he noticed her stand up, dab her eyes with a handkerchief, and discreetly leave the Great Hall, George found himself making some inane excuse to also leave ("I think I left some dungbombs in the Common Room…"), just so he could follow.

Before Fred or Lee had a chance to offer to accompany him, George sprang from the Gryffindor table in pursuit of her. He didn't know what he planned to say if he actually caught up with her. All he was sure of was that if anyone needed some old-fashioned Weasley cheer, it was Cho Chang.

He found her at the end of the hallway, partially obscured by the bust of Jocunda Sykes. She was sitting on the ground with her face in her hands, silently sobbing to herself. It was really too much for any decent bloke to witness.

He approached her quietly, digging around inside his robes for something, _anything_, that could possibly restore her spirits. When he was finally closer to her, George gently placed a hand on her shoulder, causing her to slowly look up at him. Their faces were literally centimeters apart. She stared at him defiantly, as if expecting him to berate her for crying or give her a hard time about Harry.

"I think you dropped this," he said seriously, holding a wand out to her. Cho looked at him, confused, because she was positive that the wand could not possibly be hers. Nonetheless, out of sheer politeness, she accepted it from his outstretched hand. In an instant, it transformed into a giant rubber chicken.

An awkward silence. A beat, then Cho nervously hiccupped. Undeterred, George dug deeper into his robe pockets and pulled out a handful of Nosebleed Nougats, Puking Pastilles, and Fever Fudge.

"Anything off the trolley, dear?" he said in his best impression as he offered her the sweets. Cho looked at him incredulously, her mouth slightly twitching but not quite smiling.

This wasn't going to be easy. He hadn't expected it to be, anyways. Digging once again into his pockets, George blindly grasped around for inspiration. His fingers brushed against a freshly concocted Canary Cream and a bizarre idea came to him.

George yanked the Canary Cream from his pocket, but before Cho could politely refuse the dessert, he crammed it into his own mouth.

A giant yellow canary now stood before Cho Chang, looking at her expectantly. Her mouth twitched again. But this time, she broke into a full-fledged smile. And a moment later, she was laughing.

She impulsively jumped up and hugged the giant, wonderful canary standing in front of her. Merlin, she hadn't realized how much she had needed this, whatever it was. Moments later, George's feathers molted and he began to revert back to his normal self. Cho continued laughing, hugging him appreciatively, trying to wordlessly communicate a _thank you_ to him. Long, yellow feathers scattered the ground around the pair. George closed his eyes and concentrated on the sound. He was vaguely reminded of wind chimes.

It was a brilliant sound.

* * *

A/N: It's a tad short, but I like it anyways. Cho and George are two characters we never really get to see in isolation, but I tried my best to portray them as faithfully as possible. If I ever get the time, I might possibly write a little follow-up.


End file.
